Final Fantasy VII: A New Generation
by loversweardewdrops
Summary: Nevaeh Strife struggles to let go of the past and move on with her life, but only one can give her a second chance to make life worth living. As the story progresses Nevaeh will meet different allies, new and old, R&R! Chapter's 3,4, and 5 are up!
1. Prologue

_Authors Note: Hello Everyone ! I'm new at this so, yes, I know I am a tad rusty right now, but please R&R, and hopefully I can get some suggestions to get this story started. Thanks! _

_Prologue:_

_Happy Birthday!_

I awoke to the morning sun licking at my face through the window beside me, instead of it being rainy again, the weather had took a sudden change, she could tell by the cheerful screams of children and the constant _thump _of a ball being kicked back and forth on the quiet streets of Edge. One brown eye squinted open and soon the other opened as well, a soft groan escaped from her lips at the constant poking at her side, _"Neveah! C'mon! Barrett's waiting for you downstairs!" _ The young boy practically screamed at the stubborn blonde. Neveah simply responded by turning on her side and sighing, staring at the cream colored wall next to her. Why did this day, of all days, still feel the same to her? Something was missing that's why, _they _were missing, her parents. Before she could linger on this thought any longer, the bang of a cane hitting her door made her jump from her bed. There, a weak-looking old man smiled at her the best he could; she stared back at him with tossed hair, and sleepy eyes. _"Morning to you too…" _she muttered, even when sleepy, her voice still had that soft edge to it. _"Oh man! The time sure does go by fast doesn't it huh?"_ The old man spoke, Neveah simply smiled at him, while sitting back down on her bed. She looked down to the locket around her neck, and then closed her eyes, an image of her father made its way into her mind, _"Happy Birthday, Sweetheart"_ he spoke and smiled ever so slightly. She sighed once more and opened her chocolate brown eyes to only be inches away from a child, who's hands extended a box _"Here you go Neveah!, me and the others raised enough gil to get you some chocolates… sorry it's not much" _the boy scratched the back of his neck nervously, as Neveah simply stared at the box. She blinked once more, and then a smile crept its way from the corners of her soft, pink lips. _"Thanks, kiddo" _she said and then lifted a hand to fix his auburn hair which looked a bit wind blown. Barrett simply looked at her, he knew the real reason she was so down, she often didn't act like this unless she was missing _them. _She looked to the worn out maple floor and lifted her hands up to her face, embarrassed and ashamed. She was supposed to be strong, she promised. Tears ran down her face as she quietly sobbed, her whole body began to shake.

Who knew a promise would be so hard to keep?


	2. Contemplating

Prologue:

_Contemplating_

The rain continued running down the rusty blade of the buster sword lodged into the muddy ground, in front of it stood a tall figure. Nevaeh stared at the sword, all she could think about was her father telling her about all the battles he fought with it, to protect so many, yet there was always that one loss that nagged at him his whole life. It was _her_, the one he would never tell her about, the one he had loved before her mother. She often thought what was so special about her, why her father wouldn't even tell her about. The only thing she knew was that, she loved his best friend. There was another… Sephiroth, the one everyone only talked about in hushed tones. Though she never really knew who had killed her parents, she had a feeling _he_ was always behind it, yet her father said he had died some time ago, she knew that wasn't true. Nevaeh flinched slightly at the ring of her cell phone snapping her from her thoughts, sighing she slipped it out of her pocket with one gloved hand, flipped it open and listened to the expected shouting. _"Where the hell have you been?! Do you know ho-" he_ was cut off by the loud crashing of thunder in the distance. Nevaeh simply sighed, pretending to listen to what Barrett was actually saying "_Ok, but look, I'm not coming home" _she stared down at her feet, thunder storms reminded her of that night, the night it all happened. Before Barrett could answer back the phone slipped out of her hand as her eyes rolled back into her head, she fell to the ground on her knees, no sight or smell only the piercing scream of a child.

_Cloud ran, grabbing his wife by the hand and pulling her along the street "Tifa! C'mon!" he yelled panting madly. Tifa just couldn't keep up, with her frightened child in her arms and her husband pulling at her arm, she really didn't know what to do, or say, it just seemed her legs wouldn't listen to her. A tall cloaked figure walked slowly towards them even though they were running fast, it just seemed they couldn't lose them. Cloud finally collapsed, along with Tifa by his side, he gripped his wife and child and kissed them both on the forehead. Tifa looked at him with a scared expression "If I have to die like this, saving my family, then… so be it" he spoke in his velvet voice. Tifa gripped his leg and started to cry, "Please Cloud! Please don't do this!" she couldn't hold him back, he continued walking towards the man with a sword the length of his body. Cloud took out his sword and stared at the man, a gash across his face, from the encounter with him earlier. "What do you want? If it's me then fine, but you have to promise me..." -- cloud looked back at his terrified wife and crying child -- "Don't hurt them, they did nothing to deserve this" Cloud clenched his teeth and got in a battle position._

All Nevaeh remembered after that was the horrible screams of her father and flesh being cut through like a knife through butter. Her mother wasn't as lucky as Nevaeh, the others came too late, and she was dead when they arrived. She remembered being picked up and a gentle tune being hummed in her ear, to distract her from what was really going on, but nothing could make her forget that day, the day when her family was brutally murdered right in front of her.

She soon awoke from what seemed to be a nightmare, but she hadn't fallen asleep, no certainly not. Sitting up weakly, she reached a hand to her temple and rubbed it gently, stupid headaches. What… time was it? When she stood up she realized that she was a mess, hair matted with mud and her clothes stained as well. When she turned to head back to her bike, she stopped as she heard a soft giggle in her ear. With a shake of her head she continued on, saddling herself on her jet black motorcycle, she put on her helmet and drove off down to a dirt road. She couldn't go back; she knew that would be just as worse as how she was feeling. A local inn would do for the night.

When she arrived she took off her helmet and turned off her bike, lifting one leg over and continuing to walk to her destination. She didn't look so bad now, it looked way worse then it appeared to be now earlier. Many glanced her way, staring didn't have an affect on her for some reason, she knew the real reason behind it; she was known as the daughter of the hero, the one who saved the planet from destruction years ago. Before it used to really upset her, the way people stereotyped her just because of her father, but now, not so much. The bell rang on the door as she entered the inn – stares again -- and approached the owner _"Can I have a room for night?" _Nevaeh asked in a quiet, sleepy voice. The man looked at her from different angles, up and down, left to right. What was with this guy, did he know her possibly? Or was he just plain rude? _"Umm, Excuse me?" _ She spoke trying to snap the man from whatever he was thinking to get on with this. "_Oh! I'm very sorry miss! You just look familiar that's all" _he gave a soft smile and passed her, her room key, she gave him gil in exchange. As she walked off she sighed and smiled slightly "_I get that a lot" _she shouted back at the man as she made her way up the stairs; he simply shrugged.

_Authors Note: Hi! I'm back again with chapter 2! It's not the best but I promise it will get better! So, Please R&R! _

_P.S: I'm accepting any suggestions!! xD_


	3. An Old Friend

An Old Friend

An Old Friend

Nevaeh lay sprawled across the comfortable bed in the room given to her for the night. She stared at the ceiling counting the drips of water sneaking through the faulty roof, while listening to her voicemail. Most of them were from Barrett the others from friends, but one in particular caught her attention. She shifted to her side and looked at her phone listening to a voice that sounded so familiar yet she couldn't tell who. _"Hey Sweetface ! When you come out of your state of misery hows about given me a call, hmm… well bye I guess." _The message ended just when she recognized the voice. It was Skye Valentine, how could she had forgot such a familiar, deep voice, yet hinted with its own tone of sadness. Skye was one of those people you hated yet loved at the same time, he was an eye catcher as well. He was the son of a good friend of her father, that's all she really knew, and that his dad was somewhere in Mondoheim.

She thought about calling him back, but… what would she say? It bugged her so much that she had to call, she just had to. She picked up her cell phone and dialed his number, taking a deep breath as she listened to the repetitive ringing, waiting for someone to pick up on the other line. As soon as she was going to hang up a voice answered "_Hell-oo?" _her heart nearly skipped a beat, yet she didn't really understand why she was so nervous, "_Umm, hey, it's me… Nevaeh" _she looked to the ceiling nervously, and then back down to the silk bed sheet, her arm propped up on her elbow. "_Hey Sweetface! I'm glad you called me back, I have some great news you're not going to believe!" _he boasted happily. Nevaeh sat up, interested now, he was always good at catching her interest. _"Hmm?"_ she asked, as a small smile crept its way across her face "_Their looking for somebody to hire to get rid of some creeps in the slums, well really to investigate it THEN get rid of them, hehe" _he chuckled sheepishly, Nevaeh couldn't help but laugh softly, he had good humor too.

She hadn't realized that he was still talking, so he spoke a bit louder this time to snap her from her thoughts "_So… you interested?" _he asked curiously, she sighed and then smiled, bigger than she ever had before. She hadn't fought for a while, or even spent time with Skye for that matter, so, why not? "_Sure" _she answered simply; she could only imagine the huge grin on his face at this answer. "_Great! Meat me first thing tomorrow morning in the slums, and I WILL get a hold of you If your not there" _he hung up not giving her a chance to answer back. She simply sighed and shook her head smiling, then turned on her other side, listening to the silk material of her nightdress rub against the bed sheet. She sighed once more and let her eyes close and sleep take over her body. Rest would do her good, and tomorrow she would prepare.

Nevaeh raced through the busy streets of Midgar towards the slums, keeping all her concentration on the job today, did she even remember how to use a damn sword. It had been so long, not since that day. She sighed and shook her head pressing down on the throttle more and going even faster. She came to a halt as her head began throbbing, her bike skid across the asphalt and banged into the stone wall, flinging her off onto the road where she laid unconscious, and she heard the familiar piercing scream of a child.

"_When's he going to wake up daddy?" the small girl asked, looking up to her father with big chocolate brown eyes that were filled with tears. Cloud laid a gloved hand on his daughters shoulder, and gave her the best sympathetic smile he could – he was never good at these things – "Sweetheart, he's gone now, he's playing with Jax in heaven" Cloud spoke in the softest voice he could. He bent down so he was at her height and hugged her too him, as Nevaeh looked over his shoulder at the dead cat laying on the street. Death was an ugly thing, her mother had told her, but we all have to experience it, one time or another._

Nevaeh awoke at the feeling of a warm hand on her forehead, and another around her waist. _"C'mon, Nevaeh! wake up!" _a familiar voice chanted over and over again. Her vision began to steady on the figure holding her to their chest; and felt her cheeks get hot immediately as she moaned in pain. All she could feel was the strange sensation of someone's cool fingertips stroking her forehead. She soon realized who was holding her and croaked out a weak "_Skye?"_ He simply stared at her, his brow furrowed with worry as the pain finally hit her. She knew she must have broken a rib or two. Before she knew it he laid his hand on her upper torso, and she could feel a cool tingling throughout her whole body, but mostly around her ribs; and soon the pain faded into a simple throb, numbness. "_Thanks…" _she mumbled, he simply smiled "_I think we should just forget about that job for today" _There was no use in arguing with him, he would take me home no matter what she said. Besides the tingling, there was another feeling that was more so, in her chest, whenever she looked into his deep crimson eyes. A feeling way stronger than the pain that had subsided, yet she just couldn't categorize it. Not yet at least.

_Authors Note: Finally! Chapter 3 is COMPLETE! xD I hope you enjoy! R&R. _

_Suggestions still welcome! And yes, I made this chapter longer just for all you guys! : _


	4. An Answering Prayer

An Answering Prayer

_An Answering Prayer_

_Nevaeh danced around in the beautiful bed of flowers, today was perfect. The sun shone through the stained glass windows of the abandoned church beautifully, lightening up her face and bringing out her beautiful features. Her long blonde hair rested at the small of her back – her mother constantly fought with her to get a hair cut, but she just wouldn't – long and silk like. She turned with a graceful smile, her long white dress twirling around her then falling back onto her figure, she held one flower in between her hands, one that she thought was __**perfect. **__She ran to the black clothed man leaned against one of the many pillars in the deserted church, "Daddy look!" she shouted happily and put the flower high up in the air waiting for her father to take it. He smiled his best at her and let out a soft chuckle, "Its beautiful sweetheart" he whispered and took the flower from her small hands and lifted it to his nose to inhale its scent. She smiled up at him and extended her arms upwards towards him. He picked her up and kissed her forehead "But not nearly as beautiful as you, my angel" he whispered in her ear and smiled into her hair, inhaling the scent of his daughter. Nevaeh sighed and laid her head against the hard shoulder of her father, and closed her eyes, "I love you daddy" she murmured before drifting off to sleep. Cloud smiled gently, as a tear slipped down his cheek and fell onto the flower still in his hand "I love you too angel"._

Nevaeh awoke startled, drenched in sweat, her vision blurred from hot tears swelling in her eyes. "_Dad…" _she whimpered. She soon felt a shift on the bed she was in, and felt a cold hand tucking her hair behind her ear "_Shh, it's ok" _the man spoke. _"Dad…?" _Nevaeh asked, but turned to realize it was someone else, a man with short black hair and crimson eyes. Skye. She sighed and leaned forward, until her forehead pressed against his stiff shoulder, his eyes widened and he gasped slightly at the touch of her soft lips on the flesh of his shoulder. A nervous reaction, but the blush soon went away. He sighed and put his hand on her back "_It was just a dream, Nevaeh" _he whispered, looking down to see one brown eye peeking up at him, so he tried to smile a reassuring smile towards her. She nodded, and remained the way she did for another little while. Just a dream.

He came back with water for her and a hot towel; she thanked him and laid back down. She just realized she was in her underwear, which didn't bother her so much since she was covered by a warm blanket. "_Feeling any better?" _ He asked as she gulped the whole glass of water down in less then 10 seconds. No, she wasn't feeling good, what were all these dreams about, and the headaches? She just wanted to know, so she could let go of them and… move on. She nodded, just to reassure him, even though she was far from okay. Was this what she got for lingering to much on the past, the haunting memories of her father? Nevaeh sat up, perching one arm on her raised knee, and the letting her other leg stretch out, and her back hunch. Skye looked at her blankly "_You have to stop beating yourself up, it's not your fault they… died" _he spoke seriously, Nevaeh didn't reply. She knew he was right, but something deep inside kept making her blame herself for everything. "_I'm heading to Gongaga" _she blurted out all of a sudden, her gaze focused on the wrinkled blanket on the bed. Skye raised an eyebrow in questioning, she knew what he wanted to ask, but Skye had really questioned her on her actions; he let her do what she had to do, even if she made the wrong decision in the end. She liked that about him, but sometimes she wished someone would stand up and just tell her she can't; maybe that's what she needed. She sighed and reached a hand up to rub her temple. "_Headache? Again? You should really get that checked out Nevaeh…" she groaned and murmured "I'm fine" _She cast a glance his way, and then looked away once more. God how he wished he could do something, just something, to help her in any way. Then he got an idea, "_I'll come with you…" before_ she could reply he continued "_If I can't stop you; I'll join you, besides, might be fun anyways"_ he grinned at her and winked. She looked to him with doubt and then smiled, maybe he was right, maybe it would be fun.

When morning came, Skye found himself lying on the bed with Nevaeh resting right beside him, with her arm over his chest and her head as well, right by his heart. He blushed deeply, and shifted ever so slightly trying not to disturb her; which worked terribly. Nevaeh moaned slightly, then coughed "_Morning… already?" _ She yawned; he nodded towards her and smiled. They began packing all they needed like clothes and gil etc. until they were fully ready to get on the road. Instead of her bike, they were taking Skye's red Lamborghini, which she didn't mind at _all_. He smiled at her reaction when she saw it, seeing her happy made him even happier. Once they got on the road, surely it wouldn't take them twice as long to get there on foot. She never told him the real reason behind going to Gongaga, not yet at least.

When they arrived, it was like something took over her completely. She got out of the car and admired the surroundings of the now deserted village. Her father had told her wonderful stories about how this village was once wonderful, and was also the hometown of _his_ hero, hisbest friend, Zack Fair. Something was peaceful about this place, and had a certain homey feeling too it. She stepped forward one step, but soon stopped. A figure clad in black and reds stood at the top of the hill leading to the village. He had short silver spiked hair, and fierce green eyes. He chuckled and then smirked, she shouldn't have blinked because when she did; he was gone. Was this just a figment of her imagination or did she really just see that guy. Skye looked to her, studying her form. She was dressed in tight black jeans, and knee high black boots, a leather jacket with a butterfly emblem on the right shoulder. She wore no shirt underneath; with a little of her cleavage exposed as it wasn't zipped up all the way. The way she looked back at him with her dazzling smile, made him feel well… the feeling was unexplainable. He shook his head and ran his hand through his messy hair, looking to her and giving her a goofy smile, yet it was still charming. Why was he thinking this way, about his best friend?

Nevaeh sat on the ledge of the deserted cliff, staring out at the still ocean, and inhaling the fresh air around her. "_Watch out…" _a voice whispered in her head, and in that instance a sharp piercing pain ripped through her chest, she fell. Everything went white, and it looked like she was falling endlessly to oblivion. She stared down as she soon noticed a puddle of water getting closer and closer. Her body landed numbly into the surprisingly warm water. She kept falling, even though she was in water, she just continued to sink. _"What do you want?" _a voice asked. Her own voice echoed in her head _"Forgiveness" Nevaeh_ opened her eyes as soon as a bird flew off in the distance. "_Nevaeh…?" _Skye asked approaching her with an outstretched hand. She spoke only one word, in a soft whisper, almost angelic.

"_Forgiveness…" _


	5. Reawakening

Reawakening

_Reawakening _

_Nevaeh stared around at all the slaughtered men on the battle field. She stood alone; blood drenching her from her head to her feet. She fell to her knees and let the cold rain pour down on her, as she began to cry. Her sword dropped from her hand so she could grip her face in agony, and fear. A gash on her cheek, stung viciously. A man stood in front of her laughing manically; looking down upon her like she was a useless mud puppy. "Pathetic" he spoke and then spit down on her, causing her to flinch slightly. She looked up to him with anger "Never will you be a true solider, if you can't protect your allies" he continued. She stood groaning with pain and weakness, and picked up her sword. She passed it too him; which he wasn't expecting. "If I am not a true solider; then maybe I am meant to be something else" she murmured and then turned on her heel and walked away aimlessly._

Nevaeh awoke to someone shaking her violently. "_Nevaeh! Answer me!" _someone shouted her way. She opened her eyes fully to the blue sky above her, and the sound of a seagull cawing as it circled around above her. She just stared; as Skye panted sitting next to her "_Nevaeh? Are you okay?" _he asked staring towards her; once again his brow was furrowed with worry like the last time she had hurt herself. She gave a silent nod, and then asked "_What happened?" _ Skye shrugged and then answered "_You just passed out, and kept saying stuff in your sleep" _she blinked her eyes and then sat up. _Forgiveness? But I never blamed you for our deaths. _Nevaeh was startled by this; looking around for the source of the voice "_Did you just say that?" _Skye looked at her confused "_Say what?" _ He spoke dumb-founded. Maybe… just maybe, she was living under a false accusation she accused upon herself, maybe she had forgiveness now.

As they walked back towards the car; Nevaeh had become very silent. She just stared at the gravel beneath her boots. Until she was knocked over by something, she screamed and kicked and punched what was on her. "_Owwwie!" _a feminine voice squealed. Nevaeh opened her eyes to see a confused girl staring at her with big blue eyes. "_JADE!!" _Nevaeh yelled so loud that birds flew off in the distance. She stood and head locked her sister, rubbing her knuckles back and forth on the top of her head as she whimpered. _"Did you follow me AGAIN?!" _Nevaeh screamed at her, "_Ok, Ok! I admit it, I did!" _she continued "_But Barrett told me too!" _ Nevaeh just became more furious "_You mean PAID you, don't you?" _she questioned, Jade looked up to her with one eye squinted closed and the other filled with water; she could tell she was about to cry. "_Hey… Hey… c'mon, don't cry" _Nevaeh spoke nervously. She reached a hand up to the back of her neck and scratched it as she approached her crying sister. "_I'm sorry!" _the teenager cried out. Nevaeh sighed and hugged her little sister to her form, rubbing her back and saying "_It's ok, I'm not mad" _As this continued; Skye simply stood there eyeing the strange family reunion quietly. _"But I'm taking you home" _She spoke and grabbed her by the ear, as Jade continued to whimper. Jade could notice very easily; Nevaeh hadn't changed at all.

Nevaeh opened the door to the bar and let go of Jade so she could run to Barrett. The kids could obviously hear her rude entry, because she could hear feet scurrying across the floor upstairs. "_Is this your GREAT idea of trying to get me back?" _Nevaeh yelled at him angrily. Barrett looked down and sighed "_I just didn't know what other way to get a hold of you" _He mumbled sadly. Nevaeh became more furious "_That's the point! I didn't want you to get a hold of me! I wanted to do this on my own!" _ She kicked one of the many tables in the bar, and then began to breathe through her teeth; an obvious sign that she was pissed. "_Nevaeh; remember what I told you, sit down and breathe" _he spoke while approaching her carefully. It was too late, before she got the chance to listen or even register what Barrett said. A piercing high-pitch ring filled her head; as she screamed in agony. She fell to her knees as her eyes rolled back in her head and then collapsed.

_Nevaeh found herself sitting in a puddle of water. Looking around; but only found white. She could see two figures approaching, their features becoming clearer as they continued walking her way. In instinct, she scurried back frightened. "Sweetheart, don't be scared" a female spoke. Her mother. She could tell now by seeing her long brown hair, and the same chocolate brown eyes she had. Her father was by her side, holding onto her hand. She looked down and then blinked as she looked back up "What… where… am I?" she asked. Her mother reached forward and placed her hand on her forehead "Shh…" she whispered, and then bent down beside her. Nevaeh stared at her with unbelieving eyes. This couldn't be real; no this must be a dream. But her touch, felt so real, so warm and soft. A mother's touch. "We love you… and we want you to move on" she spoke. Cloud simply stood there, staring at his beloved daughter with a smile so gentle, it could break anyone's heart if they seen it. Nevaeh nodded; but yet still couldn't control the tears running down her cheeks. Tifa managed to kiss away some; but could not control the rest. "Live, my angel. Live in our footsteps, see the places we saw, and experience the things we've experienced" they both spoke at the same time; a sweet lullaby to her ears._ _"Live, with no regrets, and no sadness, Live" they spoke once more, and as they continued she could feel a strange feeling come over her, as she was engulfed in light. "Live, Love, and Learn from your mistakes; we love you" There last words; instead of fading into an echo, lingered in her head, a reassuring lullaby. _

Nevaeh awoke to many faces crowding her, chanting her name. This startled her slightly, but gave her a feeling of safety as well. Skye noticed that her eyes seemed brighter, as did her face. Like she had been given life again. He smiled at this and bent down to her "_Sweetface, are you okay?" _he questioned. She smiled up to him, tilting her head more so in his direction than anyone else. "_I'm… fine" _she answered in a soft voice. His smile only got bigger, as he stroked her cheek gently "_Thank you" _she whispered before she closed her eyes once more to sleep peacefully. Barrett smiled "_Let her sleep" _he said to the worried children. Skye stood and turned to the door with a sigh, taking one more glance of his beloved friend; who looked more peaceful than ever before. He really felt that; even though he hardly did anything, his presence helped, him being there, helped. Barrett apparently thought so too as he grabbed the man by the arm; Skye had to look down to him, being 6'3" and all. "_You, stay. I'm sure she'll be happy to see you when she wakes up" _Skye nodded, he was right, he should stay. Not because he just should, because… well, he wanted to. Here he had a home.


End file.
